To Lydia at 4 Years old

Dear Lydia,

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! It is amazing to believe that you have been in our lives for 4 years now (plus 9 months pregnancy)! You remind me of myself as a little girl, for better or for worse. You have an imagination that could put Dr. Seuss to shame! Your little heart swoons for your current little heart-throb! And you love to get in a good snuggle! I have a hard time keeping up with you, but love (most) every minute of it!

On Sunday you were the spotlight in primary. Here are some of your responses to the statements on the questionnaire:
My favorite thing about my family is "playing with Hannah".
My favorite food is "macaroni and cheese".
My favorite book is "Strawberry Shortcake".
When I grow up I want to be "a mom ... that doesn't have to go to work (like Beckym's mom) and gets to stay home".
My favorite thing to do in primary is "play with play-doh".
My favorite prophet is "President Monson".
My favorite color is "pink".

Speaking of primary, you are now in Sunbeams and you LOVE it! Maybe this is a bad thing, but I can get you to sit (somewhat) still during sacrament meeting with the threat that if you aren't good then you won't get to go to primary. So far you have only had to go to primary late once. It is one of the highlights of your week! I have heard you singing new songs as you play with your toys and even trying to teach Hannah and Beckym some of the things that you have learned in your class. You are such a smart girl! And you love to learn!

You have loved going to preschool again this year! You have been learning more of your letters and have even started catching on to some spelling and math! The other night we were working on your Articles of Faith and you spelled the word "SINS" without looking at your paper. Wow! Funny that that would be your first letter to spell! Then I asked you if you could spell your name and you got it all except the A at the end. You are very close to being able to write your name too. You are very good at the L, Y and I. But struggle a little with the D and A. So, you tend to prefer to just sign your name LYI. You have a difficult time letting other people help you with things when you think that you are right. The main areas this has been a problem with lately is how to hold your pencil and scissors. I keep hoping that your other teachers will be able to help you change your mind with these. You have been getting pretty good at basic addition and subtraction lately. You have started learning how to count it out on your fingers and figure out problems. You also know the first 7 Articles of Faith. For a while you had them almost all the way memorized. But it started getting confusing for you since they start to sound a lot alike. So we let you look at the papers as you say them. But, as mentioned before, apparently this is helping you with some reading and spelling skills!

You are a very social and sensitive little girl! This results in a lot of things. You use your love for drawing and art to share with all of your friends. Hardly a week goes by that you don't give a friend a picture you've drawn during sacrament meeting. And you always end quiet time with several pictures for me, Daddy and other loved ones. You have a hard time getting through a day if you haven't gotten to spend some time with friends. I can relate though. This is an aspect that you are very much like me :). You also have developed a real crush. I knew that you had your little heart-throbs in Galveston that you told me you were going to marry. But it became clear to me that you had a real crush before Christmas when I told you that you couldn't have a boyfriend until you were 16. Your response? Jaw dropped to the ground and a complete silence and devastation that you would be separated from your love. Also incomprehension as to why Aunt Brittany could have a boyfriend and you couldn't (it took a while to explain to a 3 year old that 24 really is a bigger number than 16). Your next response? A plot to steal future Uncle Glenn from Aunt Brittany during Christmas vacation. This was done through not-so-subtle hand holding (and pulling Aunt Brittany's away from Glenn's), snuggles, and massive favoritism. By the end of the break I think that you gave up on this plight. But you have not given up on your plight to have your Little Prince. I'll admit, of all the little boys at preschool or church, Robby is definitely the cutest and sweetest. He loves his Ninjas and Zombies, but is not ashamed to play with the girls either. The perfect balance. And every little girl seems to see it and swoon to it! So, I guess that you have your work cut out for you! There's some real competition out there! But so far you seem to be getting your foot in the door pretty good! At the firestation last week there was, once again, some not-so-subtle hand holding and Robby didn't fight it in the least. He just may have enjoyed it a little too. Sigh.

Some other fun quirks that you have:
*You have a very set nightly ritual and when something has to change it results in a lot of tears. You must have your bedtime story, your door must be open a certain amount and the hall light must be on. However, this gives me some good leverage when you aren't behaving :). You very passionately want those 3 things and will do most anything to get them!
*You still need Pooh to sleep with! You are rational enough now that you don't have to take it everywhere with you. But SHE must always end the day in your bed.
*You are VERY talkative when you are at home. However, you are very shy when other people try to talk to you.

Lydia, we love having you in our family, quirks and all! You are so sweet and loving to all around you! And are always happy to lend a helping hand. You are, and will always be, my sweet Angel!

Love,
Momma